Impact Testing System for an Anthropomorphic Craniocerebral Model with Enhanced Mechanical Fidelity

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide, yet direct observation of the internal mechanical response of the human head under impact is severely constrained by the lack of high-fidelity craniocerebral models and suitable testing platforms. To bridge this gap, we developed an impact testing system featuring an anthropomorphic craniocerebral model with enhanced mechanical fidelity relative to earlier simplified head models. This system integrates a transparent anthropomorphic skull, a mechanically biomimetic brain phantom with highly realistic mechanical properties, artificial cerebrospinal fluid, and dedicated impact loading and measurement modules. It accommodates impacts from multiple directions and at varying velocities. Combined with a custom-built digital stereo-image correlation technique, the system enables millisecond-resolution reconstruction of surface displacement and strain fields, successfully capturing critical phenomena such as relative rotation and regional strain concentration within the brain phantom. Comparisons with simulations from human brain finite element head models (FEHM) confirm that the system provides a reliable experimental benchmark for evaluating and validating different finite element models. Looking ahead, further enhancements-such as integrating co-cultures of human neural cells into the brain phantom-could establish this platform as a transformative tool for fundamental research in brain medicine and neuroscience, offering unprecedented capability to investigate mechano-neuroelectrophysiological coupling in the human brain under impact conditions.